Preventing Thefts In Your Mobile Food Business

Preventing Thefts In Your Mobile Food Business

Tis’ the season for food truck and food trailer owners to get a much-deserved rest and break from the daily grind of the busy summer season. Unlike restaurants, chefs and caterers, who are well into the busy holiday season.

Unfortunately, this time of year has historically been when thefts spike. Thieves have to buy Christmas presents too, right? Here are some tips to help avoid becoming a victim of theft in your food business.

Lighting

When you are not able to secure property in a closed off or secure area, lighting is a great tool to deter would-be thieves! Lights help increase the chance someone will see a theft.  That reason alone is enough for thieves to move on to their next target.

Parking near overhead lights works great, but if that is not an option, this Solar LED light with Motion Sensor can easily be installed and a great way to illuminate the area around your property.

Locking up

It’s good business practice to let customers know when you are open or closed, but that makes it easy for thieves to know when you are not around! Locking up is a good first step, but a determined thief that knows he has time when you are away might have tools to bypass basic locks.

A client of Insure My Food, Matt with Las Abuelas, recommends using a Shackle-Less Padlock like the ones found here on Amazon. By not having an exposed shackle it makes it impossible for bolt cutters to be used.

For food trailers, hitch locks are a must. While they might not be bulletproof, they are important! Yes, a lock can be forcefully removed or the thief could use a flatbed tow truck to bypass the hitch, but for under $30 dollars it’s well worth the investment and enough to give a thief a reason to move on.

For food trucks, a steering wheel lock is a great idea. Most of the step van trucks used to build food trucks date back 20-30 years ago.  They lack the update ignition protections that modern vehicles have. This makes it easy for thieves to hotwire and drive off with your truck.  

Make some noise

Noise is a great way to draw attention to your property so others around look and know something is not right. Sounds can be very annoying, as Jim Carey taught in Dumb and Dumber.

Alarms that are loud and also report to a monitoring service are great but can require a constant internet or phone connection and that can be difficult for a mobile food vendor. They require a monthly service cost increasing your business costs. If the connection or the cost is prohibitive, having an audible alarm is inexpensive (GE makes a wireless door alarm for under $12) and an effective solution.

Cameras

Visible cameras protecting your business let crooks know they’re being watched and are very helpful in deterring theft.  Cameras help you review suspicious activity so that you can be proactive prior to a theft occurring.

If a theft does occur, the footage can be used to help catch the culprit. Laura of Bananarchy uses and recommends ZModo cameras. In a break-in that affected her and several other nearby food trailers, the camera footage given to police resulted in the arrest of the suspect.

 

GPS

Trackers are a great way to keep tabs on your property, but they do require a monthly subscription for services. GPS trackers are also not a replacement for other theft prevention practices because they only help when your entire truck or trailer is moved offsite.

 

Take cash to the bank

Having a lot of cash attracts attention not only from outside threats but from employee theft as well. Making frequent trips to deposit cash and never leaving cash overnight is a great step to limit theft of your hard earned money. Hope of Emoji’s Grilled Cheese took it a step further and now only accepts credit and debit, eliminating the risk altogether. She states that she has had very little pushback from customers.

With a little effort and investment, taking the some of all of the above steps will go a long way in reducing the risk of becoming a victim of a grinch during this season. Check out our loss prevention blog post for more tips on How To Protection Your Food Truck’s Bottom Line.

Want an insurance quote? Click here or give us a call at (800) 985-7859.

All You Need To Know About Food Truck Insurance Coverage

All You Need To Know About Food Truck Insurance Coverage

Confused by the complexities of food truck insurance coverage and not sure what exactly you need? We get it. It can be confusing, so we’re going to break down the different types of coverage for you using understandable language (and not insurance-gibberish).

First, take a look at the visual cheat sheet we’ve created. Below that, we’ll get into the specifics of each type of insurance to give you a well-rounded understanding of your specific needs and insurance options.

FoodTruckInfograph

Save this graphic and keep it handy so you always know what you have covered and what you don’t. Now, let’s go a little deeper into these food truck insurance coverage types.

 

General Liability Insurance

Whether you’re after bare bones protection or a full suit of armor around your business, this coverage type is a must.

General liability acts as protection against lawsuits brought against you. It covers your products (food and drinks), your premise (slip and fall), personal injury (including libel and slander), and property damage to others.

Keep in mind that this type of insurance covers damages to others, but it does not cover you, your employees being injured, or damage to your own vehicle. Nor does this coverage effective for accidents that occur while you’re driving.

A few specific instances where general liability covers damages:

  • A customer gets sick from your food
  • A customer slips and falls on a mat you placed outside
  • Another business accuses you of libel or advertising injury
  • Your patio cover falls and breaks another truck’s window
  • All the legal fees associated with the incident (even frivolous claims where you are not at fault)

The common coverage limit is $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 total per year.

Most landlords, vendors, and commissary kitchens require general liability, so you should plan on including it in your policy.

 

Food Truck Insurance icon

Property insurance coverage for your truck and the attached equipment

Don’t let the countless hours you invested into your food truck go to waste with a single driving mistake or a severe stroke of the weather. Food truck coverage protects your truck and all its attached equipment in the event of a collision, vandalization, theft, flood, fire, and a few other types of losses.

Remember that “attached equipment” specifically refers to items that are attached via bolt, plumbing, or gas line. Plates, pans, rolling carts, food, and anything else that’s not securely bolted down is not covered by this coverage. For those items make sure you get contents coverage (listed below) as well.

 

Food Truck contents and equipment coverage.

Coverage for items NOT attached to your Food Truck

Contents coverage is for all the things that are not bolted down or attached via plumbing or gas line, but are still a part of your food truck business. Your cooking utensils, your chairs, and even your POS system fall into this category.

 

Food Truck Auto Insurance

Auto Liability

Your greatest liability risk as a food truck owner is not the food you serve, but the truck you drive. Food-related claims are uncommon, but driving mistakes on the road happen all the time.

Auto liability insurance covers injury or property damage to others while you are driving, and only when you are driving. Once you are parked and open for business, your general liability coverage takes over.

 

Food Truck Work Comp Icon.

Workers Comp

Worker’s compensation insurance (commonly known as “worker’s comp”) covers you when your employees are injured while on the job. With this type of coverage, injured employees will have access to wage replacement pay and medical benefits.

Most states require you to carry worker’s comp insurance by law, but a few leave it optional. If you’re not sure what the law says in your state, The National Federation of Independent Business offers a state by state list of workers comp requirements.

 

Umbrella Insurance For food trucks icon.

Additional Coverages

There are a variety of coverage “add-ons” available to suit your specific needs. Let’s take a look at a few of the more common add-ons.

  • Umbrella insurance – Worried a claim cost may exceed the basic limits of your coverage? This add-on extends the financial benefit to cover large claims and is often required by large contracts.
  • Food spoilage insurance – Serve a certain type of food that tends to spoil quickly? This insurance will keep it from eating into your bottom line.
  • Loss of business income insurance – If you suffer a collision and have to get your truck repaired or replaced, the lost income over days or weeks can end up being thousands of dollars. This coverage type compensates you for that lost income and is, in our minds, one of the best additional coverages.

There’s a whole slew of add-ons, so if you have any uncommon truck features or business practices, let us know and we’ll find the right coverage.

 

About Insure My Food

Insure My Food provides insurance coverage for an array of mobile food vendors such as food trucks, food trailers, concession trailers, pop, vendors, concessionaires, snow cone stands, and more. Our goal is to help you protect your business with insurance that fits your specific needs so that you can focus on the aspects of your business that matter most.

We have over a decade of insurance experience and a deep understanding of the often complex (and ever-changing) mobile food industry. We also partner with several different insurance carriers to make sure your food truck process is affordable and easy.

Want an insurance quote? Click here or give us a call at (800) 985-7859.